Greenpeace: Fate of Vast Hazardous Electronics Waste Stream Unknown
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2008
11:12 AM
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CONTACT: Greenpeace
Jane Kochersperger, +1 202 319 2493; +1 202 680 3798
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Fate of Vast Hazardous Electronics Waste Stream UnknownGreenpeace
Report Says US Is Largest Generator of ‘Missing’ Waste in Developed World
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WASHINGTON, DC - February 21 - The fate of large quantities of hazardous electronic waste is unknown, according to a new report released today by Greenpeace. Although some electronic waste may be stored in consumers’ attics or garages, much is disposed of in landfills and incinerators or exported - often illegally - for dumping in Africa or for rudimentary recycling in Asia, with a harmful impact on health, safety and the environment.
Even in regions such as the European Union, where disposal of hazardous waste is subject to stricter regulation, there is no precise information on what happens to as much as 75 percent of e-waste, according to the Greenpeace report,Toxic Tech: Not in Our Backyard. In the U.S., this figure may be as high as 80 percent; the amount of hazardous e-waste that is reported for recovery in the U.S. includes some e-waste that is exported to developing countries. In the next year, this figure is expected to rise significantly as the TV industry switches from analog to digital signals, possibly spurring tens of millions of Americans to discard their TV sets.
“It is the scrap yard workers in Asia who are bearing the toxic burden of e-waste,” said Martin Hojsik, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner. They are exposed to a cocktail of toxic chemicals when the products are broken apart, polluting the water, air and soil of not only the scrap yards but the surrounding neighborhood. The mountain of obsolete electronic products is expanding at a huge rate as our consumption of electronic devices continues to grow rapidly.1”
In most newly industrialized countries, it is virtually impossible to estimate the amount of e-waste escaping any form of treatment or management. In India, however, the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology estimates that around 99 percent of domestic and imported e-waste – 143,000 tons per year – ends up in the informal recycling sector or is simply dumped.
Figures provided by four PC manufacturers – Apple, Dell, HP and Sony – that have developed take-back and recycling activities suggest that only about 10 percent of their own end-of-life products are recycled. The figures for mobile phones are even lower, with only 2-3 percent being recycled.
“Electronics manufacturers should address this toxic waste stream by increasing their collection of discarded products, introducing voluntary take-back programs and removing hazardous substances so they can be safely recycled,” said Rick Hind, Greenpeace U.S. toxics campaigner. “Only then can we be sure that the dangerous tide of e-waste is stemmed and won’t become a problem in anyone’s backyard.”
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